Ronin Warriors: Kira Assassins
by Ilimow
Summary: It's been seven years since the Ronins last used their Armor and destroyed Talpa. Now the three Warlords are dead and Kayura's life is on the line. She returns to the Mortal Realm for the Ronins help, but can they handle this new threat of dark assassins?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

"Did you feel that?"

It was completely dark in the apartment, all lights turned out for the sole purpose to create a more comfortable atmosphere, though it didn't seem to do much good. The two women were still very jumpy, and were cautious of anything that lurked behind the corner. The one who had spoken stood, walking over to the window; moving the curtains to the side, she glanced out into the city, feeling the power that had struck her begin to fade.

"Yes." Bringing her head up from where it was buried in her arm, the other woman watched the window intently. Suddenly her bag that lay beside her began to softly glow; turning to it curiously, she pulled out a small round object; it gave off a deep purple glow, pulsing softly in her hand. "I think Dais' armor has found a new owner."

Black hair pushed to the side of her face, the woman at the window continued to stare out the window. "I think I know where to look." Not two blocks away stood an art college, students busily coming and going.

Chapter 1

Grinning sheepishly, Christian flipped straightened blonde hair from her face, realizing only after the action was complete that it did no good when the man she was flirting with couldn't see her. Quickly typing her reply, she sent the latest picture of herself to him, hoping to create anticipation for him. The picture contained mainly her face, but a hint of cleavage was visible, though it was hard to tell if she was wearing a shirt or not. Which was the point.

At the moment, she was in New York; the man she was flirting with online for the past three weeks was in Japan, but that wasn't a problem at all – she was actually moving back there. Her dorm room was half packed away; her roommate's side completely untouched. All Christian had out now was her laptop, but since her plane didn't leave for another five hours, she kept it out.

Re-applying her lip gloss, she read the man's response. _I can't wait to see you in person. _Smiling, she replied. The man's name was Kento and he seemed simple enough; he lived in a small apartment with his friend, Sai, who did the cooking, while Kento did most of the eating. The pictures he sent were flattering, and while he was a little dense at times, she enjoyed talking to him; he was sweet and one of the few guys she could be honest with.

Though he claimed to be five five, a good two inches shorter than herself, Christian knew his other attributes made up for that. He was very muscular with a slightly larger build and had gorgeous indigo hair, with a deep tan and large dark blue eyes.

She bit her lip in anticipation, hoping her family didn't mind she had met him online. Though… she may not even tell them that much.

X X X

"So she's coming tomorrow?" Sai asked as he flipped a burger in the pan, the light sizzling noise softly reaching his ears as the smoked traveled upwards. Light blue eyes looked toward the living room, where Kento sat at the computer desk.

Kento slid back in his computer chair so he could see into the kitchen. Arms raised behind his head, he relaxed his head into his hands. "Yeah. She's visiting family today."

"Huh." Looking back to the burgers, Sai placed them on two separate buns, then walked over to the sink to rinse the pan. A large puff of smoke came up as water connected with the pan, but Sai ignored it as he continued to rinse it. "I think Sage mentioned something about his sister moving back from America."

Shaking his head, Kento moved back toward the computer. "Yeah, _sister_, Sai." Opening a picture of the woman he'd been flirting with for the past three weeks, he smiled. "She is hot. Anyone in Sage's family could not compare to her."

Sai come out of the kitchen, delicately holding two plats with hamburgers on them. "Oh, don't be so mean. Sage is very attractive."

Kento snorted.

Handing a plate to him, Sai seated himself on the couch next to the computer. "I must admit that she is very attractive as well. You said her name is Christian?"

"Yeah," Kento said with a mouthful of burger. Ketchup dripped slightly from his mouth, but he easily ignored it as he continued to eat.

"It will be nice to finally meet her," Sai said, after he thoughtfully chewed a piece of his food, "after all the things I've heard about her."

"I can't wait to see her," Kento returned his gaze to the picture. "It's been awhile since I've been so crazy about a girl, you know? She's just so… _perfect._"

Sai laughed, his soft voice a melody. "Don't get your hopes up, Kento. The internet is not always what it seems."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to think she's for real."

"Me, too, but I'm just saying."

"Yeah, yeah." Kento took one last bite of his burger, chewing hungrily. "You made more of these, right?"

As Sai nodded, Kento headed back for the kitchen for more burgers.

X X X

"We'll be safe here?"

"Positive."

"Who comes back here?"

Christian rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "I already told you, _no one. _My bro and sis each have their own cabin, too, and I'm not allowed near them. So you two just stay put."

"I need to speak with your brother," another voice said, the woman stepping forward from the shadows of the cabin. Her dark blue hair fell in her face, though it was much shorter than it had been the last time she was in the mortal realm; to try to hide who she was, Christian had suggested changing her look, which included cutting her hair. Christian also picked out a new wardrobe for her; instead of being dressed in normal Nether World clothing, she wore close fitting jeans, a turtle neck and a light jacket. The ominous voice that came with her threw off the whole effect. Go figure.

"I know that," Christian said impatiently, her hands twitching at her clothes. "But it'll be a big shock, you know? So can I have some time with my family and then you can talk to him?"

"This is very important, Christian," the woman who had been speaking before said. Christian had also insisted she change her look; while she would not cut her hair or change the style it was in, she agreed to more 'normal' clothing and now wore a slim skirt that reached to her knees, a low cut deep purple shirt and a over coat that was white.

"So is this, Evie," the younger woman said, keeping her gaze steady with Evie's. "I understand Lady Kayura's life is in danger, but I assure you that won't be a problem here." Turning her gaze to the woman in the shadows, she bowed slightly. "I apologize, but I must see my family first. I haven't spent much time with them for years. You will get a chance to talk to my brother, I promise."

Kayura kept in the shadows, but bowed her head. "As you see fit."

"Thank you." Smiling at her, Christian was her bright self again. "I'll come back for you guys in a bit!" Running down the rode, she waved good bye to them as Evie shut the door.

"I still think you should see this Sage first," Evie said, making her way through the small cabin.

"She is right; it would be strange to intrude. I highly doubt his parents are aware he is a Ronin Warrior." Kayura sunk onto the couch, looking out the window intently. "I just hope she is right about us being safe here."

X X X

"Christian? I'm not sure I can call you that," Sage said as everyone was seated at the dinner table. She had been greeted, then talked at, and now everyone had sat down to dinner, celebrating his younger sister's return. "What is wrong with Satsuki?"

Christian rolled her eyes, a potsticker in her chopsticks. "Please, Sage. I'm getting in touch with my American roots."

"You're not even American!"

"Hush, Sage," his mother said, her lightly grayed hair pulled back in a traditional Japanese bun. Her face was that of wisdom through a small amount of years, but her face as also kind as she smiled at her three children. "If she wants that name, let her have it. It will never change that her birth name is Satsuki." Watching Christian smile, wrinkles around her eyes increased. "It is so good to have you home, Christian."

"Thaaaank you, Mummy," Christian smiled sweetly at her, and then stuck her tongue at her brother when their mother turned to their father.

Sage sighed and stuffed some rice into this mouth as their oldest sister, Yayoi, questioned Christian about the American boys.

"Psssch, American boys are _so _immature," Christian said, making a disgusted look on her face. "Seriously, a twenty year old is like a five year old over there. I'm not even joking."

"Oh, really? So you didn't meet any boys you liked?" Yayoi asked, her eye lashes fluttering.

Her younger sister laughed, waved her chopsticks at her. "Yeah, right. They were all jerks. But I did meet this boy…"

"A boy? Who?" Their father interjected, food being dropped from this chopsticks.

"Okay, a _man, _Father." She smiled, tapping her lips with a napkin. She could see Sage watching her intently from the corner of her eye, but she ignored him. "He's actually from around here, so…"

"How'd you meet him?" Sage asked, picking at his food lightly.

"Oh, you know, just around. He wasn't there long though, he came back here to Japan and I'm going to visit him tomorrow…"

"By yourself!? No! I will not have it!" Her father slammed his fists on the table, and when everyone stared, he turned slightly pink and looked to his wife. "Please, you cannot have our youngest go see someone she barely knows…"

Their mother raised her hand to her husband's lips and nodded. "I see your concern. Yayoi?"

"Uh, I'd love to go, but I'm actually going to pick out my wedding flowers tomorrow."

"I'll go," Sage said, carefully picking up some noodles with his chopsticks and swallowing them as everyone stared.

Christian raised a brow, lips pursed outward. "Uh-huh. What's the catch?"

"What catch? I want to see who my little sister has fallen for."

"Heeeey, I didn't say that. Did I say that?"

"You didn't have to."

"What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"That even after only see you on holidays for the past four years, I still know what that look means."

"Oh, please."

"Children," their mother caught all of their attention; folding her hands at her lap, she smiled at Sage. "Thank you for offering, Sage, you will accompany Christian tomorrow."

X X X

"Watch out for that pad—"

"I can see them, Sage," Christian said, slowing her car as an old woman walked across the street. "It's not that different in America. We just drive on the other side of the rode."

"We?"

"Oh, don't start."

They drove in silence for another couple of minutes, Christian watching the rode intently, but sneaking a couple of glances at her brother. Why had he come along? She was old enough to take care of herself. Thrusting her bottom lip out, she turned another corner. It wasn't like this in America; once you were 18, you were your own person. And living like that for four years made her believe it, but now that she was back home, she was under house arrest again. Great. Back to the good old days.

"I really did miss you, Satsuki."

Peering at her brother through the corner of her eye, Christian smiled wryly. "I missed you, too, onii-chan."

Sage smiled at her old affection term for older brother, his eyes still strictly forward. "How'd you really meet this guy?"

"Pardon?"

He sighed, readjusting himself in his seat. "You're a horrible liar. And there's no way you met someone in America, who coincidently lives here, in Japan, and not only that, but very close to our house."

Christian grinned. "Couldn't pull a wool over your eyes, huh?"

"…What?"

She sighed. "I have a lot to teach you, onii-chan." Pulling into an apartment complex, she parked in the nearest open stall. Glancing to her brother, she raised a brow. "What?"

"Hm? Oh." Smiling, he stepped out of the car. "Nothing, I just have some friends who live here."

"Oh, that's cool." She turned off the car and got out as well, stretching her legs. She purposely wore one of her shortest skirts, a black tight one, with black boots that matched; her top was black and pink, complementing her curves, but covering enough so that the fall chill wouldn't bother her. Walking toward the apartment complex, she pulled out a piece of paper. "Let's see… Second floor…" Sage followed silently behind, his hands thrust deep in his overcoat pocket.

Climbing the stairs, Christian flipped curled blonde hair from her face, her gray eyes searching for the right apartment number. Another set of stairs up, she found it. Smiling reassuringly at her brother, she knocked on the door, her hands clasped behind her back.

The man who opened the door was a little shorter than her, with light brown hair that fell in his face and just onto his shoulders. He had beautiful sea blue eyes, with a skin tone that suggested he wasn't Japanese; his voice proved this. "Oh, hello, it's so nice to meet you! I'm Sai!" He hugged her enthusiastically, his thick British accident comforting.

She hugged back, smiling. "It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Christian."

"Sai?" Sage peered over Christian's shoulder. "You've been flirting with Sai online?"

Sai laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, wow, this is not going to end well. Come in."

"How so?" Sage asked, as Christian asked, "How do you two know each other?"

Shaking his head, Sai shut the door behind them. "Sorry, I'm staying out of this. Ken—"

Christian found herself wrapped in large arms, the feel of them not at all discomforting, in fact, just the opposite. She found herself responding immediately and gazed deeply into dark blue eyes. "Kento! Ohmygod, it's soooo good to finally meet you!"

"Likewise," Kento said as she finally released her. When he saw Sage, his jaw dropped. "What are you doing here?"

Sage's fists had clenched unconsciously, as well as his teeth grinding. "This… is my little sister."

"What? Your sister's name is Satuski… and she's Christian."

Christian glanced to Sage and then to Kento. "I'm so completely lost."

Sage took a deep breath, and managed to unclench his hands, though his stance was still stiff. "How did you manage to flirt with _my _sister, of all people?"

"Hey, come on now, Sage, it's not like he knew." Sai smiled at his old time friend, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, it's fine. It's just Kento; at least it's not some jerk who would use her or something, like most people on the internet."

"Helloooo, I'm still, like, really lost." Christian folded her arms, looking at her brother and Kento.

"Oh, we're old… friends," Kento said, scratching his head lightly. "Though he doesn't like me much."

"I can see that."

"Kento, I cannot believe… you'd search the internet and go for my sister. How can you be so shallow?! You could have any girl here, but you have to go online and pick my sister!?"

"Hey, now, I'm the one who did the online searching," Christian said, raising her hands up. "As you pointed out, very unlikely I'd find someone in this area, right? Well, I wanted someone for when I got back home. I found him. Now I live happily ever after. End of story."

"Happily ever after!? With him!?"

"Sage, calm down," Sai said, patting his friend's shoulder. "Kento's a good guy. As much as you guys haven't gotten a long in the past, you trust him, right? After all we've been through, you know Kento's a good guy."

Sage untensed his shoulders, his eyes never leaving Kento's. "I guess." He sighed, thrusting his hands in his pockets. "Sorry, Kento. It's just… she's my baby sister."

"Hey, I'm not a baby."

"Yeah, I get it. No big." He smiled. "I was like that when my sister got married, so I understand."

"Married!?"

"Not that I'm suggesting we're getting married! I'm just sayin'." Kento threw Christian an uneasy smile, but she returned it, which made him melt inside.

"So!" Christian turned to Sage, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Now that you see Kento's not Big Bad Wolf, are you going home?"

"No."

Sighing, Christian dropped her arms. "Somehow, I knew you were going to say that."

X X X

"He's soooo perfect," Christian said as she twirled in the grass. Stepping to keep up with her brother, she pulled the car keys from her purse.

"I wouldn't say that."

She snorted, shaking her head. "You wouldn't say a lot of things."

"Granted."

"You need a girl, Sage. Seriously. Unless you like guys, in which case, you need a guy."

"…Can we change the subject?"

Christian stared at her brother over the hood of the car. "OHMYGODAREYOUGAY!?"

"What? No!" Sage glared at his sister, then got into the car. "I just don't want to talk about that stuff."

"Sure." She got in the car as well, starting the engine. "You know, you can tell me if you are. I don't care, I just think Mom and Dad would care."

"Tell you what?"

"That you're gay."

"I am not gay!"

"Yeah, okay."

"Really, Christian…"

"Oh, hey, there's someone who needs to talk to you."

"Who?"

Christian peered at him as she headed back home. "I think I should show you."

X X X

There was a knock on the door. Another knock.

Evie watched the door for a moment; when Kayura nodded, she walked to the door and opened it. "Christian."

"Evie, don't look so happy to see me." She smiled as she patted the older woman's shoulder. "This is Sage."

Sage bowed slightly, his face telling her he had no idea why he was here. She bowed back and stepped aside, allowing him and his sister inside.

Gasping, Sage watched as Kayura came from the shadows. "Kayura!"

"Sage of the Halo," Kayura bowed.

He bowed as well, this time on his knees. "Ancient One."

Christian kept to the back, watching the scene play before her. Evie stood with her, hands holding onto the katana that had been hanging in the living room.

"I need your help, Sage," Kayura said as he stood. "There is trouble in the Nether World."

Sage's face remained expressionless, his hands at his sides. "Trouble?"

"My life is in danger… someone does not want me to rule in the Nether World," she said, her voice deeply ominous. "They have killed the Warlords… and I barely managed to escape, but I had this woman's help." She gestured to Evie. "I need the Ronin Warriors to help me find whoever is after me, and keep them away from the Jewel of Life."

"You think they're after the Jewel?"

"I do not know, but in all likelihood, they should be, if they want the Nether World."

"I believe Ryo has the Jewel…" He glanced back to his sister. "What does she have to do with any of this?"

"I'm a part of it, isn't it cool!?" Christian grinned at him. "Seriously, now I get to really kick butt."

"What!?" Sage turned back to Kayura. "Why is my sister apart of this!?"

Kayura sighed and pulled out Sekmet's orb. "When the Warlords were killed, their armor needed new hosts." Nodding toward Evie, she continued, "Evie is from the Nether World; as I was trying to escape, Cale's orb reacted to her. The sign of Obedience appeared on her forehead." She rolled the orb between her hands, watching Sage. "She helped me escape to this world, where Dais' orb began to react… at first, we didn't know where to go. But we found an apartment that was not being used and occupied it… that's when the orb began to really react. After I told Evie Dais' attributes, she went to the art college in search of his armor's new master. That's when the orb indicated Christian. It is strange that she is your sister, since you, too, possess Armor."

Sage stared at the orb in Kayura's hand and then looked to his sister. "You have Dais' armor?"

"Yeeeeah, but don't worry, I'm not like Dais. I mean, I'm badass, too, but I'm a nicer version." She gave him her normal, quirky smile, which reassured him immediately.

"There is one more thing," Kayura said, holding the orb in two open palms. "Sekhmet's orb reacted when we got here, but I do not know this city. There must be someone who can find its owner."

"So…" Sage picked up the orb, rolling it over in his hand. "You need the Ronin Warrios to help you find this orb's owner, and to help you defeat whoever it is trying to kill you?"

"Essentially, yes."

Sage sighed, running his free hand through his hair. "Could I tell the Ancient One no?" But he was smiling.

9


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So, wait, Kento and Sai have armor, too?" Christian asked as she and Sage headed toward the apartment complex.

"Yeah," Sage said, watching the rode intently as they turned. "They need to know what's going on so we're gonna have to get everyone together."

"That is such a freaky coincidence," Christian said, shaking her head. "First, it's weird 'cause you two even know each other. And it's weirder that that you both have armor."

"Yeah, talk about coincidence," Sage sighed. Running his hand through his hair, he wondered just how much Christian knew.

"Couldn't you have just called them?" Christian asked, turning into the parking lot and quickly finding a parking space.

"I guess… I don't use the phone much." He stepped out of the car, immediately heading toward the apartment building. Christian had to sprint to keep up, locking the car from the gate, muttering under her breath.

Sage kept his pace fast; he had no idea if whoever was after Kayura had made it to this world yet, and he wanted to be sure to have all the Ronin Warriors together before he found out. The problem was they did not know who they were up against; not even Kayura knew. Hopefully he could gather everyone and they could work out some type of defense and if they ran into the enemy, they could then decide what to do about them.

"Man, you know, when you're thinking, you're really zoned out," Christian said as she came up behind him, panting. They just arrived on the second floor, Sage stepping out on the landing and Christian leaning up against the door frame. "Really. I mean, jeeze, you even _walk _faster. If you call that walking."

He glanced to his sister, eye brows raised. "Right." He continued forward, knocking louder than he had meant to. Wincing, he put his hand down, glancing to Christian to see her raising her brows at him. He shrugged and waited for the door to open. "C'mon, Sai, open up…" His eyes wandered nervously, his hands clenching and unclenching unconsciously.

After a few moments, the door opened, but it was Kento who opened the door; his eyes were wide, almost blood shot, and it looked as if he was shaking. "Dude, get inside." He practically pulled Sage in, Christian quickly following and shutting the door behind herself. She bolted the lock.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Sai," Kento led them both to a small bedroom in the back of the apartment, his footsteps heavier than usual, and his posture tense. "He was in the middle of making lunch, and I'm sitting in the living room, watching a movie, you know? I'm just sitting there, and suddenly I hear this crash noise and I'm like, 'Hey, Sai, buddy, you all right?', but the thing was, he didn't answer. So, you know, I went in to check on him. And he was on the floor." He opened the door and let them inside, showing that Sai was laying on the bed, paler than usual, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow. "So I try waking him up, you know? Nothing's worked," Kento scratched the back of his head, watching Sai with blood shot eyes. "Nothing at all. I splashed him with water, I called his name, shook him, everything. So I moved him in here—"

"Why didn't you take him to a hospital?" Sage asked, walking closer to the bed and examining Sai.

"Oh, that sucks," Christian found a note that had been set on the nightstand.

"Because of that," Kento said, crossing his arms and looking up at the ceiling. "I found it when I went back into the kitchen, about to call the hospital. It was laying on the counter."

Sage took the note from Christian, who immediately went to chewing on her hair. "Seriously, that's really bad. What are we gonna do?"

Sage read the note, brows creased.

_Dear Ronin Warriors, _

_I know who you are, and where to find you. Do not think you can hide from me, or that you can keep the Lady Kayura hidden forever. I will find her. _

_Oh, and if one of you happens to not fall ill, you'd better make funeral arrangements. There is no cure for this poison in your world. _

_Kira_

Crumbling the note, Sage tossed it across the room. "We have to call the others!"

"I already called Rowen; he's on his way," Kento said, banging his head against the wall. "I don't get it, you know? I was in the living room! I wasn't even ten feet away from him! I didn't hear anything, or anything, except for Sai!"

Christian rested a hand on Kento's back, patting his lightly. "Hey, it's okay… Well, it's not okay, but it's not your fault, okay? From what Lady Kayura has told me, this person is… well, an assassin of sorts, so it's not like you'd be able to hear her."

"Speaking of which, what is this about Kayur-- wait, how do you know who she is?" Kento turned, his hands resting on the walls as he stared at Christian.

"Long story short, I have Dais' armor, and I have Kayura hidden," Christian said, holding her hands up in a shrug. "Yeah, I know, this is all really freaky, but, hey, we gotta save Sai."

Just as she finished her sentence, the door bell rang. "I'll get it," Sage headed out the door as Kento leaned his back against the wall.

"Well, shit," Kento said, closing his eyes. "Isn't this all just a little bit of a coincidence?"

"Yeah, tell me about it…"

"So there's no cure, at least that's what the note says," Sage was saying as he came back in the room, Rowen not far behind him.

Rowen stood about the same height as Sage, with blue hair that was unkept, but fit him nicely as it fell in his face. His blue eyes scanned the room, looking to Christian once, but immediately turning to Sai. "No cure, huh?"

"Nope."

"Hey!" Christian poked Rowen in the chest, ignoring personal space boundaries. "You're the smart one, right?"

Sage glowered at his sister. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rowen stared at Christian, brows sky high. "Uh, sure?"

"Okay, lemme throw this by you—if I have Dais' armor, and he had illusions that confused people and put them in a state of panic, but I'm able to make nice illusions and make people feel at peace, and Evie has Cale's armor, and he is like, darkness basically, but Evie is able to help people in the dark and stuff, doesn't that mean that if someone had Sekhmet's armor, that they could use his venom to heal? 'Cause, you know, they use snake venom in medicine and stuff."

Rowen blinked, stared for a few more seconds and then nodded. "I guess that makes sense." He turned his head to Sage, brows furrowed into confusion. "You'll explain all this to me, later, right?"

"Yeah, but right now we need to save Sai." When Christian moved away from Rowen, smiling triumphantly, Sage patted her shoulder. "I think you're onto something."

"Hell yeah," Christian said, slapping her hands together and then rubbing them. "Let's go find this chick!"

X X X

"So you're positive it's a woman?" Rowen asked as Christian drove quickly down the street.

"Cha, it makes sense." She glanced at the orb in Evie's hand, who was in the passenger seat, but seeing that it didn't react to anything, she turned left. "I'm a chick, Evie's a chick, we both have warlord's armor. Duh."

"Yeah, I get it," Rowen leaned back, feeling very uncomfortable with Christian's driving. And all the people piled into her car. While she did have a mini van, it was not big enough to hold him, Kento, Evie and Kayura with Christian driving—just because of all the dense air.

"Where are we going?" Kento asked, leaning toward the front.

"I'm back tracking," Christian said, as she turned again. "'Cause the orb reacted when we first got here, so that was around the air port, or I guess a little after wards, so probably down this way a bit…"

"I believe we were near a temple," Evie said, her eyes focused on the buildings going by them. "Sekhmet's virtue was piety, correct?"

"Piety?" Kento glanced to Rowen for help.

"Yes, it was," Kayura said, arms crossed as she shifted uncomfortably in the back.

"So we're looking for someone religious?" Christian chewed her bottom lip, keeping an eye out for a temple.

"Could be," Rowen offered, his eyes downcast as he thought. He chewed his thumb as he let his mind wander; he glanced up in time to see the orb begin to glow. "Hey! Wait, there's no temple arou—the library!"

"The library?" Christian shrugged, but quickly pulled into the parking lot, causing her tires to squeal and everyone to hold onto the sides of the car. "Sorry, but we're in a hurry." As soon as the car was parked, she was out of the car, pulling Evie along behind her.

"Wow," Rowen said, shaking his head as he leaned forward and turned the car off for her. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and climbed out of the car. "I can see why you had no idea she was related to Sage."

Kento laughed, jumping out of the car as well. "Yep, she's pretty hot, huh?"

"I wouldn't go that far."

Kayura was the last to depart from the car, her stance suggesting she did not want to be out under a sky. "This had not better not take long," she said, seeing Christian rush into the library.

X X X

Another really cheesy romance novel, another day at work; Kyoko sighed, flipped the page in her so-exciting-not-novel. She was in the middle of a good sex scene when it hit her for the second time; suddenly she fell backwards, the chair going down with her. The loud crash in the silence of the library drew many eyes, but she carefully ignored them as she stood, glaring out amongst the crowd. Licking her lips, her hand immediately went to her forehead; just like the day before, it burned a light, steady pulse, and she knew exactly what was written upon there: Piety. Biting her lip, she covered it, ignoring the people's stares as she lifted the chair and headed toward the bathroom. So the librarian was on a meltdown; second day in a row. No big deal.

Wincing as she saw her reflection, she took in several deep breathes. Okay, what could be causing this? The last time this had happened was the other day, while she was at the Temple meditating. It had shattered her concentration and through her meditative state she was able to see things she could not explain—she felt heavy, as though she had been wearing armor, and then she saw flashes of other people, also in armor. The legend of the Ronin Warriors had come to her mind, but she quickly dismissed it, knowing there were only five Ronins and they had long since disappeared. She had heard rumors that they had appeared when that weird thing was in the sky seven years ago, but she was in a much different place then so she had no time to investigate the rumor.

At the moment, she had to worry about people staring at the word 'piety' on her forehead. Which was hard to get away from since people were constantly asking for assistance—not many people knew how to work a library, apparently. All she could think of to say yesterday was it was a tattoo, but when it had disappeared, she quickly explained later that it had been a removable one. So why would she get the same removable tattoo in the same place?

Couldn't find an explanation there.

Slamming her fists on the sink, she glowered at her relfection. Her eyes then looked to the mantra tattooed on her arm. _Okay, calm down, Kyoko; you'll figure this out. _Taking in several deep breathes, she straightened, and asked herself the same question she always does, _What would Buddha do? _

It seemed ridiculious to people that she would ever ask herself that, but she was on the road to enlightenment. She held the Buddha's beliefs passionately and if she was ever to become a Buddha herself, she had to look to him as a role model.

_I had no fucking idea. Hey, Buddha, what would you do if suddenly you had a disappearing-reappearing tattoo on your forehead? _

"Hey, that's an interesting tattoo."

_Great. _

Kyoko sighed and turned to the woman who had spoken; she was tall, maybe another four inches taller than Kyoko and had blonde hair that fell in curls down her back and covered part of her face. Beautiful grey eyes sparkled behind eyeliner and mascara, lightly tinted with pink eye shadow. Smiling at the woman, Kyoko scoffed her foot, and tried to act casual. "Oh, it's only temporary."

"Really? But it's so big." The blonde indicated the mantra tattoo on Kyoko's shoulder, and the Librarian could feel herself blush.

"Oh, _that _tattoo. I got it a couple of years back. It's one of Buddha's Mantras."

"Cool."

What was she holding?

It was then that Kyoko realized she felt a pull toward whatever it was the woman was holding. The object seemed like an ordinary ball, but she knew that couldn't be possible when it was _glowing_, and brightly. She felt drawn to it, and found herself staring; blushing again, she gave the blonde a half smile. "Um, yeah, I'd better get back to work now…"

"Hold on a minute," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Christian."

"Um, Kyoko…" She shook the offered hand, the woman's grip very strong.

"Anyway," Christian smiled, flipping blonde curls over her shoulder, "I think there's something you should know. About that mark on your forehead."

X X X

She didn't expect someone quite so… exocentric. When Christian had explained the story to Kyoko, she immediately thanked her and said she'd get off work right then, leaving Christian in the bathroom by herself. Well, and a glowing orb. Tossing it in the air, Christian reflected over the meeting.

Kyoko was small, though typical height for a full blooded Japanese. She had her hair cut long in the front and short in the back, the back being spiked as well; it was a deep purple color, the tips silver. Tattoos adorned the woman's body, most of them religious in some sense; she wore thick amount of eyeliner (Christian knew the style was common in Japan, but, still, she was hoping maybe for another girl to talk to; Evie was kind of guyish sometimes), with dark eye shadow and thick rimmed glasses.

Maybe it was her religion that allowed her to believe in the supernatural, but Christian still found it odd that Kyoko had believed her story so easily. _Oh, well, makes things easier for me, _she thought as she headed out of the bathroom and toward the front of the library, where Evie stood ominously, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed as she surveyed the area.

"Found her," Christian said, still tossing the orb between her hands.

"Good." Evie glanced out the window to see Kento trying to get Kayura to play some kind of game, one that involved throwing something, and Rowen standing on the sidelines laughing. "This is who is going to save Lady Kayura?"

Christian glanced out the window and grinned. "Oh yeah."

"Okay, so I'm off work…" Kyoko said as she approached, hands thrust deep into her overcoat, eyes small as she looked up to the two women. "…but I said I wasn't feeling well, so I can take a few days off, if need be."

Evie raised her brow, looking impressed for the first time. "Good thinking."

Christian handed the orb to Evie and wrapped an arm around Kyoko's shoulders. "You got a car?"

Kyoko snorted, watching Christian behind thick glasses. "Those things are bad for the environment."

Christian patted her shoulder as she pulled away. "Good thing; makes things easier on us." Stepping outside, she called to the three standing to the side, "You guys got my keys?"

X X X

"So I have to heal him?"

"Pretty much."

"How?"

"I don't know," Christian raised her hands in defense. "Just know you gotta do it."

Kyoko chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, staring down at the young man on the bed. He was very handsome—someone Kyoko would be interested in, had it been a different circumstance. Now, as it were, his life rested in her hands and she wasn't so sure she was okay with that, but then, if she didn't save him, who would?

Kneeling down by his head, she rested her hands on his chest and felt his chest vibrate with labored breath and winced inward. Whatever poison had been used was definitely affecting him—badly. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. "Buddha help me…"

After a few moments, she opened her eyes to see everyone staring at her. Glaring at them over her lenses, she demanded, "What?"

"Nothing happened," Kento said, nudging the bed with his foot.

"I noticed." She stood rubbing her hands together. "Lemme see that orb."

Evie handed the orb to her; Kyoko took it, feeling the pulse lightly on her hands. "Maybe I should put on the armor?"

"Yeah, go ahead… um," Christian turned to Kayura. "What does she have to do?"

Kayura looked to Kyoko, her dark eyes soft, her voice low as she spoke. "You are now Kyoko of Autumn. Just say, 'Armor of Autumn, dao-jin'."

"Autumn, huh?" Kyoko peered curiously at the orb, her slender fingers feeling the warmth. "My favorite season." She closed her eyes and said the words, feeling the weight of power flowing around her—suddenly she could see ribbons and sakura. Everything went dark… and then she fell to the ground by the weight of armor. "Holy shit, this is heavy!"

"It'll adjust in a minute," Christian said, trying not to hold back laughter.

"Ow." Kyoko slowly stood, glaring at everyone who even remotely looked like they were about to giggle. "Hey, don't tell me you didn't have trouble your first time."

Everyone shut up.

Nodding in satisfaction, Kyoko once again placed her hands over Sai. She could feel his pulse beating, even through her armor—suddenly, it all came to her. What she was supposed to do, what she was meant to do, and all the abilities her armor possessed she now possessed too. Closing her eyes, she pulled it's strength and slowly let her armor seep it's venom into Sai—only, this venom had good intentions and her feeling for life was thrown into it as well. Her beliefs, her ideals and where she stood was all thrown into the mixture; the venom poured from the armor and drenched into Sai.

X X X

The pain was suddenly gone; one minute it was there, another it was not. Opening his eyes, Sai saw the most beautiful face he had ever seen; she had the deepest set of brown eyes, beautifully shaped and the color reminded him of a deep, rich chocolate cake… Wait, a minute…

"What happened?" Sai sat up as the woman leaned back, and he froze as he saw Kayura. "Lady Kayura! What are you doing here?" He blinked and stared at everyone. "My goodness! I was cooking, then I was in pain, and now everyone's staring at me?"

Kento laughed and slapped Sai's back. "Oh, man, am I glad you're alive!"

"Yeah," Sage nodded, "we were really worried about you."

"Hey, this lady saved you," Christian pulled the woman over; she was dressed in armor…

"Sekhmet's armor!?"

"We'll explain everything," Rowen said, grinning. "It's a pretty long story."

Sai glanced back to the woman in his enemy's armor, but gave her a warm smile. "Thank you for saving me, Ms…?"

"Kyoko," she said, smiling back; her smile was absolutely beautiful, small dimples forming at the corners, "just Kyoko."

"Well, it's a pleasure, Kyoko."

Kento glanced from one to the other, and then looked to Christian. "Oh, man, do you see this?"

"Oh yeeeah."

"See what?" Rowen asked as the two laughed at him.

"Yeah, what?" Sai questioned, throwing the covers to the side.

"Noooooothing," Christian said, still chuckling lightly.

"I hope the food hasn't burned…"

"Don't worry, man, I turned the stove off," Kento said, and when everyone looked at him, he shrugged, giving his all too familiar grin. "What?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"So you had a vision about this?"

"In a sense, yes," Kyoko set the mug of hot cocoa on the coffee table, feeling a sudden chill; rubbing her hands together, she avoided Evie's patronizing gaze. The scar on Evie's face scared her, though she could not say why. It ran down through Evie's right eye, causing the eye to be blind and turn into a very pale blue, almost grey color. Her stare was frightening simply because of her one grey eye and one almost black eye, both staring at you with a gaze that held what Kyoko could only describe as haunting. "I was in deep mediation so it's no surprise, really. Meditation opens your third eye and expands your mind beyond its normal limitations, thus I was able to access the aura that came from the orb." She picked up the orb, turning it lightly between her fingers. "It's as if it was trying to say something to me."

"Yeah, and it worked," Christian said, leaning over the table, her finger jabbing the table. "If that vision hadn't appeared to you, you probably wouldn't have believed a word I said and then we would have had less time to save Sai."

Kyoko glanced to Sai; he was standing in the kitchen doorway, holding a cup of hot cocoa, the liquid lightly steaming. The steam rose up and touched his face; Kyoko could almost feel the damp it left against his skin… and blushed when she realized she was staring. Tearing her eyes away from him, she readjusted her glasses on her nose, and looked into her cup. "Yeah, probably." Looking up at Christian, she smiled. "I'm actually glad you have a car."

Christian laughed, shaking her head as she set her own mug down. "Yep, sure saved us a lot of time."

"But what are we going to do?" Evie was leaning against the far wall of the apartment; her face remained expressionless, but her eyes were piercing as she watched Christian and Kyoko. "We have to do something. This assassin, Kira, if you will, somehow managed to, not only get into the apartment undetected, but put poison in Sai's food, and escape." She unfolded her arms, and rested them against the wall, pushing herself forward. "How do we beat that?"

"We have to out-smart them," Rowen said, his head bowed in deep thought. "The problem is, they know we're here. In the note, they said they knew where _we _were. That means Ryo, too; which means," he looked to Christian, "they didn't know where you had put Kayura. That's our safest bet at the moment."

Christian shook her head, taking one last sip of her drink. "It's not safe anymore. Kayura's left the building and you all know what that means; if they know about this place, then they know Kayura's in it right now. Which means they'll be able to track us back to her hiding spot."

"Where did you hide her?" Sage asked, glancing around the room as if he'd be able to spot an assassin lurking in the dark corners.

"My cabin."

"…Your cabin?"

"Yep."

"…I'm glad this assassin didn't know we were related, otherwise she would have checked there."

"Yep." Christian stood and as she was about to go to the kitchen, Sai took the mug from her and went in instead. Shrugging, she sat back down on the floor. "Okay, so… you know what this means?"

"Ryo's in danger?" Kento asked.

"Well, yeah," Christian said, thoughtfully chewing her lip. "But there's something else—"

"Wait, does this Ryo even know what's going on?" Kyoko asked, looking to the other Ronins.

"Uh, I should call him," Kento said, stepping away from the couch and heading toward the wall-phone by the kitchen.

Christian sighed and ducked her head in defeat. "Is anyone going to listen to me?"

"Yeah," Kyoko smiled and patted her head. "Sorry, I had to ask."

"All right. So anyways—"

"Wait, this means you have a plan?"

"Damnit, Kento, don't be an ass," but she smiled at him as he grinned, continuing to dial Ryo's phone number.

Kento frowned at the phone, leaving a quick message for Ryo and then hung up. "He didn't pick up."

Christian sighed. "Well, I guess its better I don't explain it." When everyone groaned, she held up her hand. "Only because I don't know if anyone's listening to us. Let's get Ryo and go."

"Go where?" Sage asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"I'll show you."

X X X

"This is the middle of nowhere," Kento said, stepping out of the car along with everyone else. He stretched, his legs extremely cramped—it had been difficult fitting everyone into one car. He had suggested riding in too cars, but Christian had said that would be to easy to track and did not want to chance one of the cars getting attacked. Instead, all nine of them had shoved themselves inside Christian minivan, trying desperately not to invade other people's space—though that was not accomplished well.

"That's exactly what this 'Kira' will think, too," Christian said, dumping her keys inside her overly decorated purse. Brushing aside blonde curls, she stepped out into the clearing of the forest, looking around. "Sage and I used to come here all the time when we were kids."

"How does that help us now?" Sage asked, arms folded as he leaned against a tree. "There's a lot of serenity in this forest, but I don't see how this can protect us against assassins."

"Well, they won't know where to look." Setting her purse on the hood of her car, Christian pulled out her orb from inside—everyone stared as she took it to the middle of the clearing, holding it before her. Eyes closed, she called forth her armor; soon she was completely dressed in what used to be Dais' armor.

Kento took a step back, a little shaken to see his former enemy's armor on the girl he was trying to date. He knew the armor in no way had anything to do Dais, only that that is who it had chosen to wear it, but it was still discomforting to see it upon someone else. Swallowing the lump in his throat that he hadn't known had been there, he watched as Christian pulled out two of the armor's six kamas and began to… paint?

Everyone stared in awe as a beautiful house began to form in front of them. Christian kept her eyes closed as she carefully drew the lines, making her picture perfect; the soft strokes turned into hard wood and soon the house was solid, real. As if it had been standing there the whole time—Christian smile triumphantly as she opened her eyes. Turning around, she beamed at everyone. "Cool, huh?"

"How did you do that?" Rowen asked, taking a step forward.

Shrugging, Christian was suddenly back in her clothes, the armor gone. "Easy. I'm an illusionist, remember? And I happen to be an artist. So I paint what I want to be there. I've put on several layers, so let me explain how this is going to work." Gathering everyone's attention, she pointed to the house, pink nail polish shining in the sunlight. "This house isn't _real, _but since I made it to be, it's as real as I want it to be. And I don't want those assassins to know it's here, soooo! There, of course, is the layer of the interior of the house. Which we can all access, and us only. Because, after the second layer of the outside of the house, I put a third layer, that is the _real _clearing here. No house, no nothing; just a clearing and a bunch of trees. Of course, they can see us 'cause we're all standing here, but yeah. That's how it works."

"So they can't get inside?" Sage asked, sounding impressed for the first time in years.

"Unless they are able to umask the layer, which they're not going to be able to do without my help, yeah, they can't get in."

"What's inside?" Kento asked, taking a step forward, now standing next to Rowen as they both gaped at the large house.

"Oh, you know, some rooms, kitchen, stuff we'll need to survive. It'll help us figure out what to do with these assassins—we'll have a place to call our 'home base'," Christian said, smirking as she began to ascend the steps to the front door.

"I'm not calling it that," Sage said as he followed.

"How is this tiny cabin going to fit all of us, though?" Kyoko asked, following once Kento and Rowen began to go inside.

"HOLY CRAP!!" Kento sped inside, the sound of his footsteps dying once he reached the inside of the house.

Kyoko raised her brows, but then stood inside, mouth open as she stared at the extremely large interior of the house.

Kento was at the top of the stairs, staring down. It made no sense—the outside was a small cabin, but inside… it was like a mansion. The entry way was almost as large as the house looked from the outside, but then there were rooms attached to that, so many doors Kento could not even count; a chandelier hung from above him, the light shining beautifully as it bounced against silver engraved wood. The wood was a dark, smoldering color, the silver in it bringing out the beauty in the whole house.

"There's got to be at least ten rooms up here!" Kento shouted down to everyone, staring at the stairs as they kept winding upward.

"Thirteen on that floor, and on the next, plus four bathrooms on each floor," Christian said, standing at the bottom of the stairs. "I figure us girls can have a floor to ourselves and you guys can have the other floor." Smiling at everyone as they continued to stare at the house, Christian continued, "If you go out back, you'll still be inside the layer, so the assassins won't be able to see you. There's a zen garden out there, as well as a small dojo, just for you Sage," she punched her brother in the arm lightly. "'Cause I know you love to mediate."

"This is an interesting set up, Christian," Evie said, her one dark eye and one grey eye scanning the rooms. "I believe Lady Kayura will be safe here."

"You bet," Christian said, throwing her purse over her shoulder. "So all we gotta do now, is get stuff from home and head back."

"Is there a phone here?" Sai asked from the kitchen, going through all the pottery.

"Oh yeah, it's in the hall."

"Want to try to call Ryo again, Kento?"

"Not a bad idea." Kento took the stairs down two steps at a time, arriving at the phone. Dialing Ryo's number, he got the answering machine again; frowning, he hung up, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe he's out with White Blaze or something."

"We should stop by his house," Rowen said, hand thrust deep into his pockets. "Just to be sure that he's all right."

"Good idea."

Christian pulled her keys from her purse. "Okay, let's go."

X X X

Sage, Evie, Sai, and Kayura had stayed at the house—it was easier not to carry so many people in one car, and it seemed safest to have someone watch the house. Christian sped down the highway, ignoring everyone's protests that she was going too fast. They had already stopped by everyone's house and picked up any clothes they would need; everything was packed into the trunk of her car, and now they were on their way to Ryo's.

He lived out in the country side, mainly because he liked his privacy and he did not want his neighbors to freak when they saw White Blaze. It seemed logical to Christian, though she was still confused as to why he had a tiger, but she figured she'd better not ask; it was probably a long story.

Kyoko had come with them, just in case she needed to heal Ryo as she had Sai, and Rowen and Kento had come along because they both knew where Ryo lived. It worked out pretty well. Everyone but Christian protested her driving, but she was in a hurry and no cops would bother her if she didn't want them to.

"You're going to get off the freeway at the next ex—CHRISTIAN, YOU JUST CUT THAT GUY OFF!"

Glancing into the review mirror, Christian raised her brows at Kento. "He was in my way." Speeding by at least twenty miles an hour, she exited through where Kento had told her and made a right on the dirt road. "Wow, there's, like, nothing out here."

"Yeah, Ryo likes it this way," Rowen said, clutching onto his seat, knuckles turning white. "You do realize we're off the freeway, right?"

"Yeah, why?"  
"You're still going freeway mileage…"

"I know that." Licking her lips, she accelerated again, sending everyone slamming into their seats. "It's not like anyone's here."

"I'd like to keep my life," Kyoko said, raising her hands in surrender. "That's all I ask."

"No problem."

Sai sighed, scratching his head. "Easy for _you_ to say; you're driving."

"This is it."

Christian slammed on the brakes as Rowen spoke, skidding the car; dirt flew up in mounds, covering the car completely in dust. Turning off the car, she pulled out her keys and sped toward the house. "You guys coming?"

"Jeeze, what's she is such a hurry for?" Rowen asked, climbing out of the car.

Kento jumped out of the front passenger seat, hanging onto the door for support. "Oh my God, she may be hot, but that is NOT making up for her driving."

"Do all Americans drive like that?" Kyoko asked as Sai helped her out of the car.

Rowen and Kento stared for a moment, brows raised. Looking to each other, they shrugged.

"I wouldn't know," Kento said, heading toward the house. "Do they, Rowen?"

"Not _all _of them," he said, scoffing dirt off his shoe.

"Where's White Blaze?" Kento asked, stopping in front of the door, head cocked to the side. "We usually hear him by now."

"That is pretty unusual," Sai said, glancing to the sides of the house. "I don't hear him at all. Or Ryo."

"YOU GUYS HAD BETTER GET IN HERE!!"

No mistaking Christian's voice—everyone rushed inside. Ryo was in the kitchen, laying on the floor next to a dining chair. Food was set up on a plate on the table, the chopsticks on the floor as well, showing he had at least had one bite, and probably no more. White Blaze was in the corner of the kitchen, his head between his paws, almost as if he was asleep—but his food was next to him, and it only had a bite of it missing.

"Holy crap," Kento said, rushing to Ryo's side. Slapping his friend's face, Kento saw that wasn't working and resorted to shaking him. "He won't wake up!"

"Maybe it's the same thing I had," Sai said, crouching by White Blaze's side. "He's barely breathing."

"Yeah, well, Ryo _isn't _breathing," Christian said, Ryo's head now cradled in her lap. "Hurry, Kyoko, I don't know how much time he has left. If any."

Kyoko swallowed the lump in her throat, but it did no good since her throat was completely drive. Pulling out the orb, she pulled at the energy once again—this would be her second time calling upon the armor, and she had a feeling this would be no where near the last. Once changed, she knelt next to Ryo, resting her hands on his chest; closing her eyes, she did as she had before, calling upon all the energy she could muster, as well as the energy from around her and from the armor.

_"Haha, not this time, Ronin." _

Snapping her eyes open, Kyoko found herself slammed into the far side of the kitchen; blinking she stared at Ryo. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"Hear what? I heard the bang of you slamming against the wall," Kento said, still holding Ryo.

"Yeah, what happened?" Christian asked, brows furrowed in worry.

"I-I-I heard a voice. It was female and kinda creepy. She said 'Not this time, Ronin'."

Sai rushed to her side, helping her stand—she could feel her face flush as he did so, suddenly thankful that her helmet hid any hint on her face that she may have been slightly pink. She managed to utter a 'thank you', and then returned her eyes to everyone else—whose eyes were on her. What could she tell them? Obviously she could not heal him. There was some type of barrier that the assassin was using to keep them from reaching Ryo.

"Try White Blaze." Kento flicked indigo hair from his face, trying to put a grin on his face, but it was obvious to Kyoko that he was scared. He cared about this Ryo and the idea that he may be dead scared Kento a lot more than he was willing to admit.

Nodding, she knelt next to the giant white tiger, carefully placing her hands on his shoulders. This time, when she worked the spell, it actually worked; White Blaze opened his eyes, staring at her for a long moment, nostrils flaring before he finally stood and walked over to Ryo, nuzzling his master his nose.

"I guess that assassin is really after Ryo," Christian said, absently chewing her lip as she leaned against the wall. Banging her head against it, she tried to think. "They must know Sai's all right. Knew before we even got here."

Rowen crouched next to Ryo's body, moving dark hair from Ryo's face. Gritting his teeth, he shook his head. "I totally forgot…" His voice trailed off as his eyes looked upwards, almost searching.

"Forgot what?" Christian asked, grey eyes glittering with tears.

"I can't say it outloud… Shit, I hope they didn't find it!" Rowen stood and raced out the door, not bothering to shut it behind himself.

Kento released Ryo and went after him. "I forgot too!"

Christian raised up her hands, looking to Sai. "Do you know what they're talking about?"

"I think so."

X X X

"It's still here," Rowen said, slumping to the floor as he held the small orb in his hand. It was slightly larger than the ones they used to change into their armor, and it held much more power as it radiated in the dark room. They were in Ryo's dojo, which was separate from the house, toward to the back of the estate so he could have plenty of privacy.

"Oh thank God," Kento said, panting as he leaned against the doorframe. "So this person doesn't know about it?"

"Apparently not," Rowen said, placing the orb inside his coat pocket as he stood. "Let's get going."

Nodding, Kento pushed his hair from his face as he followed Rowen out the door. They hurried back to the house, not exactly running, but not walking either. Everyone was outside by the time they got there, loading Ryo into the back seat as White Blaze jumped into the trunk. Rowen gave Sai a thumps up, reassuring him that the orb was safe. Sai smiled, nodding, obviously understanding what he had said.

Climbing into the car, Christian asked, "So what is it that you guys raced off to see?" Turning the car on, she quickly backed out, everyone slamming against their seats.

"If Ryo doesn't wake up by the end of this drive, I think he's hopeless," Kento muttered, sliding in his seat.

"I heard that."

"It's the Jewel of Life," Rowen said, lightly fingering the orb resting in his pocket. "Talpa tried to use this to take over not only the Nether World, but our world as well."

"So there's a good chance this person could do the same," Sai added, leaning forward in his seat so he could be heard. "Though it appears as though they don't know about it, since they didn't take it from Ryo's house."

"Which is really odd," Rowen clutched to his seat as Christian quickly moved into another lane, jerking the car. "It must mean this person didn't know about Talpa, or—"

"Only heard stories," Christian interrupted, nodding. "Makes sense. I mean, if she heard of some powerful force being defeated and then their old minions are trying to re-make the Nether World, of course they'd want that kind of power too…"

"So they think Kayura is the key," Kento said, holding onto the dashboard with both hands, his body slamming against the door.

"And that we can use to our advantage," Kyoko said, pushing up her glasses as they slid down her nose. "If they think Lady Kayura is the one who gave Talpa all that power, then they don't know that this Orb was what he needed to finish what Kayura couldn't. So _that _means, we have the upper hand."

"Still a problem," Christian interjected, making her way off the freeway and into city traffic. "They're still after Kayura. We're hiding out. We need to learn more about them in order to do anything at all. Maybe we have the orb, but we don't want the Nether World, so what are we gonna do with it?" Flicking blonde curls from her face, she made an illegal turn and continued toward their hideout. "We have to keep them from finding out about it, as well as keep them away from Kayura."

"Hmmm," Sai leaned back in his seat, but was immediately thrust forward as Christian quickly stopped the car, honking her horn.

"YOU JACKASS, WHY DON'T YOU GO TO A CROSS WALK!?"

And leaned back against it as she sped off.

Sighing, he folded his hands together. "Rowen?"

Rowen's head was bowed, deep in thought—he glanced up when Sai said his name. "We can't contact this person. We have no idea who they are, or what they're necessarily trying to do. All we do know is that they want Kayura and they want us dead."

"Wait, so if they think it was Lady Kayura who gave Talpa all that power," Kyoko blew hair out of her mouth as she slammed into the side of the car, gasping slightly for breath, "then that means they don't want her dead. That they're just looking for her, and the whole point to poisoning the Ronins was to get her out of hiding."

"That sounds about right," Christian said.

"And it worked," Rowen said. When Christian glared, he held up his hands. "To an extent. See, they weren't counting on you being able to use Dais' armor to your advantage, either that or they thought since they had killed him, that the armor was obsolete."

"Basically, they know jackshit," Christian said, pulling up into the clearing. "Which doesn't really help us, since we know jackshit about them." Slowly the house came into view, and she parked the car in front. Killing the engine, she sighed. "Well, let's try to fix Ryo first and then we'll figure the rest out."

"You tried to heal him but it did not work?" Lady Kayura asked, watching as Kyoko nodded.

"I did what I did with Sai and nothing happened, except that assassin lady spoke to me." She pulled her glasses off, cleaning them with the end of her shirt. "She said 'Not this time, Ronin' and next thing I knew, I was on the other side of the road."

"Much as we can figure," Christian said, pink nails tapping the bed frame on which Ryo was sleeping, "she was trying to lure you out by poisoning the Ronins."

"But she didn't count on us," Kyoko continued, placing her glasses back on the ridge of her nose. "When she killed the War Lords, she thought these armors were done for."

"And the Jewel of Life?" Kayura asked, tossing what remained of her hair out of her face.

"Right here," Rowen pulled it out of his pocket, tossing it to her.

She caught it, turning it over in her hands. "So… this assassin is a woman, she's after me, but she doesn't know about the Jewel?"

"Yeah, basically. First, let's figure out what to do about Ryo, then we'll explain our theory about that." Christian crossed her arms, staring down at the holder of the Inferno Armor.

Evie stepped forward, peering down at the Ronin, her face expressionless. She had long since lost much of anything similar to emotions, but she was grateful to Kayura's help and devoted herself to the Lady's service. Used to being a slave and nothing more, Evie was content with her new role as Kayura's bodyguard, and would do anything in her power to help her. And to help her, she had to help this Ronin.

"I have an idea," Evie said, her voice piercing through the silence. Pulling out her orb, she changed into what used to be Cale's armor, ignoring everyone's stares.

"What can you do? She already tried to heal him," Kento said, thrusting his hands in his pockets. "I don't want to seem like the pessimist here, but, seriously, I don't think you can do anything."

"Quiet, Kento of Hardrock, you're not thinking on the right terms." Evie glanced to him, her one good eye, and one blind eye making even her glance seem threatening. "Christian has Dais' armor, and he had the power of illusion, correct? He used illusions to confuse people and bind them to his will—Christian does the opposite. Kyoko was able to turn venom into a type of healing ointment, which is the opposite of what Sekhmet would do." Taking a step closer to Ryo, she knelt by the edge of the bed. "It stands to reason that I may use Cale's powers in the opposite manner as well; he used his power to blind people, to keep them lost in the dark. I will merely guide Ryo from that darkness, back into the light."

"That makes sense," Sage said, nodding. "Cale and I were enemies, and he often tried to put out my light… but since I am of Halo, I could pass through."

"This is just so weird," Kento said, throwing up his arms. "My girlfriend has my old enemy's armor, but she's using it differently, but it's still way freaky to think about. And now these two have Cale and Dais' armor…"

Christian patted Kento on the shoulder, smiling sweetly at him. "Don't worry, you know I look _way _better in the armor than this Dais' ever did."

Kento grinned, sliding a hand around her waist. "Definitely."

Sage coughed, glaring at the two.

Christian merely grinned and kissed Kento on the cheek, who blushed.

Evie rolled her eyes, and set her attention on Ryo. All she had to do was lead Ryo from the darkness… "Ryo of the Inferno, listen to my voice… Follow the sound of my voice…"

X X X

Ryo was trapped in the dark; he could not remember how he got there, or how long he'd been there. It felt like it had been an eternity, but he could not be sure about that; any time of way to keep track of time was lost in the abyss, and he could do nothing but sit and wait. Laying across… the ground? He was not sure, but since it was solid, he could assume it was some type of ground, he heard a faint voice.

"Ryo of the Inferno…."

He'd never heard the voice before, but it was very calming, and he through perhaps he should trust it. Why not? He was lost in this darkness, with no where to go. A voice was comforting company.

"…listen to my voice…"

"Yeah, I'm listening, can't do much else," Ryo said absently, sighing as he sat up.

"…follow the sound of my voice…"

"Follow?" Did he have a choice? What else could he do? "Well, I guess it's better than just sitting here." He stood, straining to hear the voice from the distance.

"Ryo, follow the sound of my voice…"

"Yeah, yeah." Heading in the direction where he thought he heard the voice, he thrust his hands in his pockets, slowly making his way forward. He had no idea if there was anything in his way or anything to obscure his path—it was too dark to see, something he'd gotten used to while he'd been here. He saw nothing, only black, but kept moving as the voice kept talking to him.

X X X

Ryo's eyes flashed open, staring straight at Evie. "So you made it back, Ryo of the Inferno," she said, pushing herself from the bed so she could stand.

"That's Cale's armor!"

"Man, we have so much to explain," Kento said, smacking Ryo on the back. "But hey, who wants lunch first?"

As everyone laughed, they slowly filed out of the room, Kento talking feverishly at Ryo. Evie stayed in the room for a few moments, shedding herself of the armor, and watching everyone. After a few moments, she felt someone's eyes on her; she turned to see Sage had never left. He was leaning against the wall, arms still folded.

"That was amazing, what you did," he said, slowly pushing himself from the wall.

Evie watched him, his blonde hair swaying around his face as he moved; she wrapped her arms around herself and met his gaze. "I did what I thought I must."

"And it worked," Sage glanced down, fingers looped around his belt loops. "I honestly don't know how to take this… you know, with you wearing my enemy's armor."

"It has nothing to do with the armor," Evie said, brushing strands of black hair from her pale face, "it's about who wears it."

"Yeah, I guess that's right," he paused, watching her face intently for a moment. She thought she saw something flash across his eyes, but decided she was only seeing things.

"We'd better attend to everyone," she said, suddenly feeling very warm. For the first time since she'd gotten her scar, she felt a tinge of fear; walking away, she could still feel his eyes on her back.

10


End file.
